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Brigitte Engel — Visages

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Cercle del Design

Old Still Works

Reliability, durability and the resilience of analogue design

OFF BDW 2026 | LO VIEJO FUNCIONA by CERCLE DEL DESIGN

IN PRAISE OF PERMANENCE: DESIGN CELEBRATES THE POETRY OF TIME AND ANALOGUE MATTER

· A resounding success for LO VIEJO FUNCIONA, the initiative organised by Cercle del Design at Fábrica Lehmann as part of Barcelona Design Week 2026.
· A wide-ranging dialogue between Alberto Lievore, Luca Hugo Brucculeri and Eulalia Llovet Vidal, moderated by Jazmín Castresana, on the emotional dimension of objects, the archetype of the analogue object and the overcoming of obsolescence.
· A living collective exhibition: the interactive display built in real time with twentieth-century objects brought by the audience.

Barcelona, 21 October 2026. In a design landscape often dominated by digital acceleration, fleeting trends and planned obsolescence driving ever-faster consumption cycles, some objects resist the passage of time, preserving their beauty and function intact. It is from this perspective that LO VIEJO FUNCIONA — Reliability, durability and resilience of the analogue — was celebrated to great public acclaim, with more than 100 people attending the event hosted by Cercle del Design at the emblematic industrial space of Fábrica Lehmann, as part of Barcelona Design Week 2026.

The round table. Beyond form: the symbolic and emotional dimension of objects

At the heart of the event was a round table moderated by Jazmín Castresana, design journalist and founder of Interior Contraportada, which brought together three complementary perspectives: award-winning architect and industrial designer Alberto Lievore, ephemeral spaces designer and art director Luca Hugo Brucculeri, and communication specialist and Web Manager at Pilma, Eulalia Llovet Vidal. The discussion transformed the room into a deep reflection on the nature of the objects that surround us, on the value of durability and the deeper meaning of creating in an age that must overcome the tyranny of “new at all costs”.

“Design is nothing more than a form of communication, a formal language for conveying values. And when those values are shared, an empathy emerges that generates affection,” explained Alberto Lievore, dismantling the trap of uncritical consumerism and emphasising the capacity of objects to forge emotional bonds: “Surprising people is easy — you just have to do something unexpected. Making them fall in love is much harder, but it is the only thing that defies time. When we create an emotional relationship with an object, we no longer feel any need to replace it.”

Luca Hugo Brucculeri aligned with this view, defending the value of the artisan gesture, touch and the creative reconversion of materials, demonstrating how even an ephemeral intervention or a shop window can aspire to eternity if it is capable of touching people’s emotions: “We design elements intended to last a short time, but with the aim of leaving a lasting impression in people’s memory and emotions. Matter and the human gesture still move us. Moreover, innovating does not always mean inventing from scratch — it means recovering an existing technique or material and giving it a second life.”

Eulalia Llovet Vidal, for her part, underlined the importance of honest communication grounded in concept and craftsmanship: “The fundamental role of communication is to tell stories: the origin of the idea, the artisan dimension, the values behind it. Today’s customer looks for pieces with the intention that they last a lifetime. The question is whether we want many fast-turnover products or fewer, more carefully selected pieces, capable of passing from generation to generation.”

The collective installation: a display of shared stories

What made the event truly unique was a participatory happening in which the audience itself became co-designer of the occasion. Responding to Cercle del Design’s open call, attendees brought everyday twentieth-century objects that still work — from utensils and lamps to analogue tools — to shape a collective display built in real time. This one-of-a-kind installation celebrated the patina of time as testimony to resilience, use and the aesthetic of permanence. LO VIEJO FUNCIONA demonstrates that the future of design lies not in constant novelty, but in the capacity to create objects capable of ageing gracefully while continuing to speak at our human pace.

The event was part of the OFF programme of the Barcelona Design Week, whose theme this year is PRO-TEST. LO VIEJO FUNCIONA is, in its own way, a protest in favour of good design — and also a rehearsal for the collective exhibition to be presented in 2027.

The evening closed with music and an aperitif courtesy of of Barcelona Beer Company, craft beers brewed using traditional methods, with the finest ingredients and spring water from the Parc Natural del Montseny, and Casa Mariol — TERRA ALTA is not something you explain; it’s something you drink. From the land to the glass.

LO VIEJO FUNCIONA, A COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION IN 2027

LO VIEJO FUNCIONA is a project by Cercle del Design that poses a central question for contemporary design: why, in many cases, does what already exists continue to work better than what is new? Inspired by a line from the series El Eternauta, the project does not propose a nostalgic gaze, but a critical reflection on reliability, durability and resilience as values of design. The open call for the 2027 exhibition is structured around seven forms of permanence: memory, durability, reliability, repairability, materiality, use, and beauty that does not age — different ways of understanding the relationship between use, time and meaning. A reflection on the future of design that challenges us, inviting us to consider it not only as a source of innovation, but as a tool for making the life of objects endure through time.

Here is a selection of images from the event:

The following are actively participating in the realisation of LO VIEJO FUNCIONA event on 17 October:

Cercle del Design is a physical, independent community based in Barcelona and dedicated to contemporary design. 

Further information: info@cercledeldesign.com

Guendalina Perelli +34 663 801 384 | guendalina@gwep.it

Jazmín Castresana +34 699 727 665 | jazmin@interiorcontraportada.com

1 / Brigitte Engel — Visages